1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video telephone which is capable of communicating with a calling side via images as well as audio signals, and has an automatic answering function of automatically responding to an incoming call.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, telephones provided with an automatic answering function are in widespread use among telephones for audio communication. With the automatic answering function, the telephone responds automatically to an incoming call, and records a message of the calling side on magnetic tape or the like. When it is possible to receive the caller number (that is, the telephone number of the calling side), the number of the caller can be stored together with the message of the calling side, and even if the calling side terminates the call without responding to the automatic answering function, it is possible to store the caller number only. The user of such a telephone having an automatic answering function can then reproduce (play back) recorded message that have been stored with the automatic answering function, at a later time. Some apparatuses are equipped with a display device, with which the recorded messages can be displayed as a list. Although it takes a long time to reproduce sequentially a plurality of messages stored on a magnetic tape, with such an apparatus it is possible to select a recorded message from the list to be quickly reproduced, for example, by fast-forwarding the magnetic tape. The display device can display the telephone number of the caller, and, in the case where the telephone is equipped with a telephone book function in addition to the automatic answering function, the name etc. recorded by the telephone book function in association with the telephone number. Thus, looking at the information displayed by the display device, the user of the telephone can select a recorded message to be reproduced.
Regarding a video telephone which allows telephone communication with images as well as audio signals, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 7-30873 (1995) discloses a conventional telephone provided with an automatic answering function, with which messages including images recorded in response to an automatic answering function can be reproduced. In this conventional video telephone, messages and images received from a calling side while the user is out can be stored on random access hard disk. A large amount of storage space is necessary to continuously store images, so that this conventional video telephone is equipped with a mode in which only audio signals are stored without storing images, a mode in which only the initial screen is recorded, a mode in which a specific screen associated with a command operation signal from the calling side is stored, a mode in which a screen is stored every predetermined period of time, and a mode in which only the final screen is stored. In this conventional video telephone, images and audio signals received from the calling side during automatic answering with the automatic answering function are stored, but the reproduction of the stored information is similar as with the automatic answering function in telephones for audio communication. That is to say, when the reproduction function is activated by a predetermined switching operation, a list of the recorded messages is displayed. This list displays, in a table, the telephone number and name of the caller, the time, and the storage mode indicating whether the stored message is audio only or audio and images. When the user selects a number from this list, the stored information corresponding to this number is reproduced. When images have been stored, then the stored images are reproduced. Although it is not explicitly mentioned in the above-noted publication, when there is a message recorded in response to a call with the automatic answering function in a regular telephone for audio that has an automatic answering function, then a lamp or the like provided on the telephone blinks. Thus, when the user comes home and sees the lamp, the user can easily determine whether messages have been recorded while he was out, and decide whether to perform the operation for reproducing the stored messages.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 63-316966 (1988) discloses a conventional video telephone equipped with a telephone book function. This publication describes the partitioning of the display screen to display a plurality of images, in order to carry out selection among a plurality of registered entries.
As has been explained with regard to JP-A 7-30873, in conventional telephones having an automatic answering function, the user cannot check who the caller is or from which a call has been received while the user was out, unless reproduction of recorded messages is carried out. When the telephone is not a video telephone but a telephone with audio capability only, and when the caller""s audio message is reproduced continuously after recording it, then, when the user knows the caller, the user can recognize the caller by his or her voice even without performing the reproduction operation. However, there is the disadvantage that, when the recorded message is repeatedly reproduced while the user is out, it can be heard and causes noise pollution to the neighborhood, so that this method has found no practical use.
In telephones capable of receiving the caller""s telephone number, it is possible to identify the caller from the displayed telephone number, and, when the caller""s name has been stored in association with the telephone number, to display the name matching the caller""s telephone number. Therefore, when the user performs the reproduction operation with a regular automatic answering function, a list of the telephone calls received while the user was out is displayed. Still, the telephone number is only assigned to the caller""s telephone, and is not associated with a specific person. In case of mobile phones or the like, the chances are high that a telephone number is related closely to a specific person, but when the user knows the caller, then the caller can be faster identified by his or her voice. However, in regular telephones, when one telephone line is installed for one household, for example, and when the telephone number of this telephone line is displayed, the possibility that the call is from this household is high, but in case of a three-member family of father, mother and child, it is not possible to specify the caller, even when the telephone number and a name associated with that number are displayed.
Furthermore, JP-A 63-316966 discloses that the screen is partitioned into a number of partitions as specified with the telephone book function, and the plurality of images stored in the memory are displayed simultaneously. However, this publication does not mention whether the number of partitions can be changed or not, and even assuming that it can be changed, it does not mention how it could be changed. Consequently, when the number of partitions is too large compared to the number of still images to be displayed, then the images have to be displayed in very small size and become difficult to recognize, even though there is empty space. On the other hand, when the number of partitions is small, then it may not be possible to display all images to be displayed, and the perspicuity of the display suffers.
It is an object of the invention to provide a video telephone having an automatic answering function, which makes efficient use of the video telephone""s function and makes it easy to identify callers who have responded to the automatic answering function.
The invention provides a video telephone having an automatic answering function in which automatic answering is made in response to an incoming call and at least an image of a calling side is reproducibly stored, the video telephone comprising:
display storage means for storing image display information during automatic answering; and
display continuation means for controlling the display storage means such that image display is continued after a video telephone communication has been terminated.
According to the invention, the video telephone having an automatic answering function can automatically answer to an incoming call and at least reproducibly store an image of the calling side, and comprises display storage means and display continuation means. The display storage means displays images and stores image display information during automatic answering. The display continuation means controls the display storage means such that image display is continued after a video telephone communication has been terminated. Since the image display is continued even after a video telephone communication using the automatic answering function has been terminated, the user can easily identify the caller by looking at the image. Because the image is displayed continuously, it is possible to avoid the problems that occur when a voice message is repeatedly reproduced, namely that the content of the message can be heard by the neighborhood and causes noise pollution. Furthermore, although it is not possible to specify a member of the household by a telephone number even though it may be possible to specify the household by the telephone number, with the invention, it becomes easy to specify a specific person when, for example, the face of the caller is displayed on the image display.
Furthermore, according to the invention, the video telephone automatically answers to an incoming call with the automatic answering function and an image of the caller is stored The stored image can be continuously displayed even after the automatically answered video telephone communication has been finished, so that the calling side image can be displayed without any special operation by the user, and when the user returns home after being out, the user can immediately recognize the caller.
In the invention it is preferable that the display continuation means controls the display storage means such that the display storage means stores and displays a received final image frame.
According to the invention, since the final image frame is stored and displayed by the control of the display continuation means controls, after the video telephone communication is finished, the final image frame is displayed with the result that the control for continuous display is simplified.
Furthermore, according to the invention, the final image frame from the calling side of a video telephone communication that has been answered automatically by the automatic answering function is displayed continuously, so that it is sufficient to display the content displayed by the video telephone function continuously without change after the communication has been finished, which makes it possible to simplify the control of the display storage means.
In the invention it is preferable that the video telephone further comprises display manipulation means for, in the case where a plurality of calls have been answered automatically and there is no empty display space for an image to be added to a continuous image display, in a storage space of the display storage means, producing available display space for the image to be added, in the display storage means by manipulating images received so far by automatic answering so as to reduce an information amount of the images, to store and display the image in the produced display space.
According to the invention, when a plurality of calls have been automatically answered, the images for the plurality of calls can be stored with the display storage means and displayed continuously. When there is no empty display space for an image to be added, in the storage space of the display storage means, then the display manipulation means produces available display space for the image to be added, in the display storage means by manipulating the images received so far by automatic answering so as to reduce the information amount of the images, to store and display the image to be added, in the produced display space, so that all of the images for a plurality of calls can be displayed at one time.
Furthermore, according to the invention, when a plurality of calls are automatically answered, the images for the plurality of calls are stored in the display storage means, and can be continuously displayed.
In the invention it is preferable that the display manipulation means reduces the information amount by directly culling image data stored in the display storage means.
According to the invention, the display manipulation means reduces the information amount by directly culling image data stored in the display storage means, and produces new available display space, so that it is possible to reduce the displayed images by culling as well as production of new available space.
Furthermore, according to the invention, image data stored in the display storage means are directly culled to produce new available display space, and images of a plurality of callers are displayed, so that it is possible to attain an at-a-glance-display by reducing the displayed image data while increasing the displayed number of images and fitting a plurality of displays into the same screen.
In the invention it is preferable that the display manipulation means rearranges the displayed images after reducing the information amount thereof.
According to the invention, the display manipulation means rearranges the displayed images when reducing the information amount of the image already stored in the display storage means, so that, in addition to the reduction of the information amount, it is possible to display a plurality of images such that they are easy to grasp.
Furthermore, according to the invention, when a plurality of images are displayed, the information amount is reduced and the displayed images are rearranged, so that it is possible to identify a plurality of callers by arranging the images in accordance with the reduced information amount.
It is preferable that the images are rearranged in a chronological order.
According to the invention, the images can be displayed in chronological order, so that the user can easily identify the chronological order in which the displayed images have been stored.
In the invention, it is preferable that the display manipulation means partitions the display space in a predetermined direction which is either a vertical direction or a horizontal direction into n partitions to display a plurality of m images, and in the case where a (m+1)th image newly received by the automatic answering function is to be displayed, the display manipulation means compresses all of the plurality of images by n/(n+1) to partition the display space into n+1 partitions with respect to the predetermined direction to enable the (m+1)th image to be displayed.
According to the invention, when the number of displayed images is increased, the compression of the images already stored with the display storage means and continuously displayed is halted at the necessary minimum, and using the display space efficiently, the displayed images can be easily identified, and it is possible to display all images together simultaneously.
Furthermore, according to the invention, when a plurality of caller images are being displayed and one image is to be added, the necessary compression in order to add that new image is performed, so that it is possible to efficiently use the display space in order to display a plurality of images.
In the invention it is preferable that the display manipulation means partitions the display space in either a vertical direction or a horizontal direction into n partitions to display a plurality of m images, and in the case where a (m+1)th image newly received by the automatic answering function is to be displayed, the display manipulation means produces available display space for the (m+1)th image in the display storage means by culling, with respect to the direction, one of n data points of each of the m images to compress the image in size to n/(n+1) in said direction, and partitioning the display space in that direction into (n+1) partitions, and compresses the (m+1)th image to the same size as that of the m images compressed to n/(n+1) in size, to store and display the compressed (m+1)th image in the available display space.
According to the invention, when displaying an image received by a further automatic answering process, the compression of the images already stored with the display storage means and continuously displayed is halted at the necessary minimum, and compressing the newly received images, it becomes easy to identify the displayed images, using the display space of the display storage means efficiently, and it is possible to display all images together simultaneously and continuously. Moreover, by culling the image data, it is possible to reduce the information amount of the images easily and quickly.
In the invention it is preferable that the display manipulation means partitions the display space into a preset maximum number of display partitions or less.
According to the invention, the display manipulation means does not partition the display space beyond a preset maximum number of display partitions, so that it is possible to avoid display of images that are too small, which occurs when the images displayed continuously by the display storage means are too small, so that the user cannot identify the caller by looking at the images, and to maintain the advantageous aspect of identification of the caller by displaying images.
Furthermore, according to the invention, the display space is not partitioned beyond a maximum number of partitions, so that it is possible to prevent the display of a number of images that is so large that the at-a-glance-display is harmed.
In the invention, it is preferable that the display space is rectangular, with horizontal sides thereof being longer than vertical sides thereof, and the partitioning of the display space begins with partitioning in horizontal direction.
In the invention, it is preferable that the partitioning of the display space is carried out in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction in alternation.
According to the invention, beginning with horizontal partitioning of the display space, which is rectangular and whose horizontal sides are longer than its vertical sides, the image that is already displayed, and which is rectangular and whose horizontal sides are longer than its vertical sides, is compressed in horizontal direction and displayed in the partitioned display space, so that the images displayed after the partitioning of the image space can be visually grasped easier than when beginning with vertical partitioning of the display space, and vertically compressing the image that is already displayed.